


Hearts in Ice

by xxDustNight88



Series: Dust Bunnies [6]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Child Death, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-26
Updated: 2016-12-26
Packaged: 2018-09-12 11:08:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 790
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9068965
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xxDustNight88/pseuds/xxDustNight88
Summary: Each New Year’s Eve Hermione drags Theo back to the scene of a most tragic event. Can their love endure the loss they both share?





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [starrnobella](https://archiveofourown.org/users/starrnobella/gifts).



> Thank you to starrnobella for fueling this heart-wrenching little drabble. Please check the trigger warning before reading. Also, thank you to SquarePeg72 for helping me with a title! Please review! xxDustNight
> 
> Prompt: Snow. Misery. Marshmallow. “Are you with me because I remind you of him?” “Everything reminds me of him.” (courtesy of starrnobella)

_ Hearts in Ice _

Together, they walked through the freshly fallen snow, fingers intertwined for warmth. It was a path they knew well, the trail from the manse to the lake ingrained in their minds so that it didn’t matter that the cobblestone was covered. Glancing downward, Theodore observed Hermione’s stoic expression—chocolate eyes facing forward with determination. He squeezed her hand gently, a moment of relief warming him when she returned the gesture.

The mountain beyond the lake loomed, a foreboding snow-covered marshmallow, not friendly in the least. He hated this walk, this _journey_. He loathed that every New Year’s Eve she insisted on coming out here to replay that one fateful night over and over and over again. It was their own personal misery. His own personal hell. Somehow they endured it. Every. Single. Year.

Arriving at the edge of the lake, Theo was surprised to find that it wasn’t as frozen as it normally would be this time of the year. Nevertheless, he waited patiently while Hermione stared out at the expanse, remembering four years prior, and quite possibly wishing for an alternate ending. Swallowing back his own pain, Theo looked towards the middle of the lake where it had happened. He closed his eyes, allowing the memories to overtake him. Even after all this time, it was still fresh in his mind…the terror…the panic…the helplessness…the grief.

When he finally opened his eyes, unable to bear the torrent of emotions any longer, he found Hermione using her wand to conjure a wreath of lilies. She levitated the memorial to the middle of the lake where it rested gently upon the frozen surface. Once she’d finished her task, she wrapped her arms around her middle, a quiet sob escaping her lips. He knew better than to touch her though, not right now anyway. There would be time for that later when they’d returned to the warmth of the manse behind them. Sighing, he decided he had to ask the question that’d been on his mind since the accident.

“Are you with me because I remind you of him?”

He heard her sharp intake of breath, the sound chilling him more than the wind whistling through the empty tree branches. Turning his body to face hers, he waited for her answer, fearing the worst, but ready for the truth. Wiping at her tear-streaked cheeks, Hermione slowly turned her back on the dreadful lake to give him her full attention.

“Theo,” she started, reaching for him but stopping short. “Everything reminds me of him.” She broke down then, her small body wracked with the sobs of a mother who lost her son to the frozen waters of a treacherous lake.

Theo’s eyes fell shut, the sight of her anguish too much for him. He remembered that day far too clearly. The three of them ice skating on their lake. The first sign of weakness as a sliver appeared in the middle. Their frantic skating trying to get to the edge before it was too late. But it was too late. Both Hermione and their son had fallen through the broken ice. Theo’s heart hammered in his chest reimagining himself at the edge, body shoulder-deep as he desperately tried to pull them both to safety.

Hermione was able to pull herself out despite the icy water weighing her down, but their son hadn’t been so lucky. Their very best efforts hadn’t prepared them for the grindlylow ensnaring him and tugging him below the surface, stealing him from them forever. Ripping himself from the horrid memories, Theo reached out and tugged Hermione into his arms, wrapping her in his loving embrace.

Everything reminded him of their son too. The falling snow. The setting sun. His mother’s curly hair. His own whiskey colored eyes. _Everything_. He couldn’t fault her for her misery because he felt it too. Placing a kiss to the top of her head, he held her even tighter. They’d managed to survive their grief this long, they would endure.

“I love you, Hermione,” he whispered into her ear.

“And I love you, Theo…” Then, taking his hand, she untangled herself from his arms and began to lead him away from the lake he loved to loathe and back to the warmth of their home. “Come now…let us hurry. Our daughter will be awake from her nap by now.”

He nodded, not wanting to disturb the peaceful quiet that descended upon them as they trekked back overtop their footsteps in the snow. Despite the tragedy they’d had to endure, there were always reasons to live. The love of his family would keep him afloat. As long as he had Hermione and their daughter…all would be well.


End file.
